Recipes

Carbonara - bacon and eggs, Italian style! No cream, just eggs, cheese, pancetta (guanciale if you can find it) and freshly ground pepper. Spaghetti's the pasta of choice but linguine or bucatini are fine too.

Ingredients

450g spaghetti (or linguine)

25g unsalted butter

200g smoked pancetta or guanciale (pigs jowl), cut into lardons

2 cloves garlic, crushed

60ml white wine

3 whole eggs, plus 1 yolk

40g pecorino, finely grated

40g parmesan, finely grated (plus extra to serve)

freshly ground black pepper

4 tbsp chopped parsley

Instructions

1. Fry the pancetta and garlic over a low heat until the fat renders and the meat is cooked (10-15 minutes).2. Turn up the heat, add the wine and boil until most of the liquid has evaporated. Allow to cool.3. Boil the pasta water with a generous amount of salt (10g per litre). In a separate bowl lightly whisk the eggs together with the cheeses.4. Cook the pasta until al dente.5. Reheat the pancetta and garlic, add the butter and stir until melted. 6. Drain the pasta, reserving a few tablespoons of the pasta water for the sauce, then stir through the egg and pancetta mixtures. Stirring constantly, cook over a very low heat for one minute then leave for two minutes so the residual heat finishes cooking the eggs. Loosen the sauce with a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water. 7. Add plenty of freshly ground black pepper, stir through the chopped parsley and serve immediately with more fresh Parmesan.